Spring chair



Sept. 18, 1956 Filed July 28, 1952 J. E. WILSON SPRING CHAIR 2 Shee QZWWM cs-Sheet 1 L SUN INVENTOR.

Sept. 18, 1956 J. E. WILSON 2,763,319

SPRING CHAIR Filed July 28, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JOHN E W/LE UN INVENTOR.

United States Patent SPRING CHAIR John E. Wilson, Portland, Oreg.

Application July 28, 1952, Serial No. 301,295

1 Claim. (Cl. 155-53) This invention relates to improvements in lounging chairs and has for one of its principal objects the provision of a chair of this character in which the frame structure including the front and rear legs, arm rests, seat portion and back rests are all formed of a continuous single length of tubular or band material and which will yield under the weight of an occupant into a comfortable reclining position and which will also yield to forward and rearward motion to function as a rocking chair or to provide mild exercise for convalescents.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a chair structure of this kind which is of simple, durable and inexpensive construction of pleasing appearance and made by simple bending operations.

These and other objects will appear as my invention is more fully hereinafter described in the following specification, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and finally pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chair frame made in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of Figure 1, showing seat and back cushions attached thereto.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of frame made of band material.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of Figure 4.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings:

The frame structure illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 is made of a single length of light weight metal tubing such as steel, duralumin, or the like. The frame may be conveniently made in a bending jig, starting, for example, with one end portion of the tubing, generally indicated at 1, forming a combination rear leg 2 and an arm rest 3. At the forward end of the arm rest, the tubing is bent downwardly and slightly rearwardly to form one front leg 4, then upwardly and rearwardly to form one of two parallel side members 5. At the top end of the side member 5, the tubing is bent downwardly and slightly forwardly to form one of two parallel side members 6 of a back rest. At the lower end of the member 6, the tubing is bent forwardly and slightly upwardly to form one of two parallel side members 7 of a seat supporting section of the frame. The forward end of the side member 7 is turned at right angles to itself into a cross member 8, then rearwardly as at 7A upwardly as at 6A, then downwardly and forwardly as at 5A, then upwardly and forwardly as at 4A, and finally downwardly and rearwardly as at 2A to provide matching elements for those of the other side of the frame and indicated respectively at 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.

The front legs 4 and 4A are pivotally attached by means of bolts, screws, or the like to the parallel side members 7 and 7A of the seat supporting section. It will be noted that the seat and back rest forming portions of the frame are disposed on the inside of the arm rests and rear legs as best illustrated in Figure 2. Seat and back cushions 10 and 11 respectively are built within boxframes 12 and 13 whose bottom outside edges are secured to the seat frame portions 7 and 7A, and the backrest portions 6 and 6A of the frame respectively.

2,763,319 Patented Sept. 18, 1956 Although said cushions wil remain in their proper positions due to their confinement between said side elements 5 and 5A and the combination arm rests and rear legs 2 and 2A, they may if desired be secured to the frame by any suitable means, such as bolts or screws 14, extending through apertures 15 in the frame members.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the frame is of the same shape as the frame shown in Figures 1 to 3, but is made of a continuous length of band material such as hand iron or steel instead of metallic tubing. The seat and backrest portions 16 and 17 respectively of the frame are arranged flatwise to present maximum supporting surfaces for the seat and backrest cushions which may be mounted within box frames and secured to said frame members by means of screws or bolts, as in the other form of the invention, passing through apertures 18 formed in said frame membars.

The forward ends of the side members of the seat forming portions of the frame rest upon a cross bar 20 secured to the legs 19 and may pivot or slide with respect to the rod as the seat and backrest are moved forwardly and rearwardly when functioning as a rocking chair or used for exercising purposes as illustrated in broken lines in Figure 1.

Although I have shown and described the employment of cushions mounted within box frames, it is to be understood that any desired number of apertures could be provided in the seat and backrest portions of either frame for lacing a canvas back and seat to the frame. The spaced apart upper rear ends of the backrest may be reinforced by the attachment of an interconnecting cross bar 21, which I have shown in broken lines in Figure 1.

While I have shown particular forms of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes therein will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

An article of furniture made of a single length of spring material and comprising two straight parallel rearwardly and downwardly inclined combination arm rests and rear legs flexible throughout their length, the terminal ends of saidlegs forming two separate points of contact with a floor or other support, two parallel front legs downwardly extending from said rear legs forming two other points of contact with a floor or other support, two upwardly and rearwardly extending side frame members extending from said front legs and flexible throughout their length and turned back on themselves at their upper ends and extending downwardly and forwardly into back rest and seat frame portions, respectively, which are flexible with respect to each other, a transverse portion interconnecting the forward end of the seat frame portion to provide a support for the forward end of a seat, and horizontal means connected to said legs and disposed beneath said seat frame portion and providing a slidable support for said seat frame portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,491,918 Nolan Apr. 29, 1924 1,976,449 Lorenz Oct. 9, 1934 2,046,715 Zerbee July 7, 1936 2,509,451 Reinholz May 30, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 372,513 Great Britain May 12, 1932 446,911 Great Britain May 8, 1934 620,907 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1949 638,984 Germany Nov. 26, 1936 

